Details of Peterborough Petes and the Ticket Luck value

Peterborough PetesPeterborough, Ontario, Canada is home to the 51 year old Peterborough Petes ice hockey team. The junior ice hockey team has been playing in its home town since 1956 and is also the oldest continuously operating team in the league.

HistoryThe Petes were born when the Kitchener Canucks relocated to Peterborough after the 1955-56 season. The team would later on become a sponsored team and backed up by thousands of Montreal ice hockey fans. The Petes played their first game on October 1, 1956 and it was on November 6, 1956 when the team would win their first game.

During the 51 years of participating in the game, the junior ice hockey team has been very successful in producing exceptional players that were not only talented but gifted and later played on the international arena. Players like Eric Staal, Chris Pronger, Steve Yzerman, Bob Gainey, Mike Ricci, Larry Murphy, and Tie Domi are just some of the greatest names that played for this junior team. Not only was this team blessed with talent but was also coached by visionary coaches that became legends in their own right and time. Scotty Bowman, Roger Neilson, Mike Keenan, Gary Green, and Dick Todd were all great coaches that coached this team. Thus, it is not surprising that this team alone has graduated the most players to the NHL of all current OHL teams.

Roger Neilson Era (1966-1976)Roger Neilson started coaching this junior ice hockey team in 1966- the same that this team was officially declared the Peterborough Peters Hockey Club. And it was not until 1974, when the colors of the team were changed to maroon and white and a new Petes logo was adapted and stitched onto the jerseys. Neilson led his team to seven consecutive winning seasons from 1968 to 1975, also finishing first overall in 1970-71, winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup in 1972, and were runners-up in 1973 and 1974. In the 1972 Memorial Cup, the Petes lost a close 2-1 game in the finals to the Cornwall Royals.During his tenure as coach, Roger was able to set the standards of excellence for the team and imbedded into the team the spirit of competition and winning performances. His coaching ability was unique and he was also the first coach to use videotape to analyze team performances and use the output as a teaching tool. This is the story originating to his nickname Captain Video. He was also the first to use microphone headsets to communicate with his assistant coaches.

One of the great achievements of Neilson is the qualification of penalty during a 5 on 3 situation. This was clearly a new rule that had to be written to accommodate for Nielson requirements. Primarily, during one Petes game, his team was up one goal, but was down two men in a five on three situation for the last minute of the game. Realizing that more penalties could not be called under the existing rules, Neilson put too many men on the ice every ten seconds. The referees stopped the play and a face-off was held relieving pressure on the defense. After this display the rule was changed so that a call for too many men on the ice in a 5 on 3 situation now leads to a penalty shot.

Also another strategy of this legend ensured a change of rules during a penalty shot as well. Neilson used to place a defenseman in net instead of a goalie during a penalty shot, and this allowed for the defenseman could rush towards the attacker and greatly reduce the chances of a goal. This provided very beneficial to the team trying to defend the attack. Today the rule states that a team must use a goalie in net for a penalty shot, and that the goalie may not leave the crease until the attacking player touches the puck.After 1976 leaving behind a great coaching career with this junior ice hockey team, the coach started a join to coach the the Dallas Black Hawks in the former Central Hockey League.

Irrespective of having one of the greatest coaching legends training and honing the skills and game of the team, the Petes were still successful after Roger Neilson retired from coaching their team in 1976. The Peterborough Petes were still able to win three consecutive OHL championships in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Gary Green coached the first two championships followed up by Mike Keenan in 1980. The Petes won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy two consecutive times in 1979 and 1980. Peterborough's success also continued into the Memorial Cup, reaching the championship game all three years, and winning the national junior title in 1979.The years between 1978 to 1980 was not only a winning streak for the team but also presented to the ice hockey arena names and skill sets of talents individuals that later on became international stars. Many of the players that played for the Petes ended up playing for NHL (National Hockey League) and breaking records. Keith Acton, Bob Atwell, Keith Crowder, Ken Ellacott, Dave Fenyves, Tom Fergus, Larry Floyd, Mark Kirton, Rick LaFerriere, Steve Larmer, Larry Murphy, Mark Reeds, Stuart Smith, Steve Smith, Tim Trimper and Jim Wiemer are all memorable players of that span.

Dick Todd Era (1982-1993)Dick Todd is also a notable coach for The Petes. Dick started with the Petes as a trainer in the 1970s and was there through their three Memorial Cups. Later on he was promoted as a coach and he was able to lead the team to two more Memorial Cup tournaments in 1989 in Saskatoon, and 1993 in Sault Ste. Marie. During the years between 1982 and 1993, the team was able to win 6 division titles and had the best overall winning percentage in the OHL. Todd was awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 1987-88 for his brilliance performance and results out in the field.

Memorial Cup 1996 1996 marked the 40th anniversary of the junior ice hockey team that by this time a house hold name in the local and regional vicinity. and in that particular year, The Petes won the J. Ross Robertson Cup defeating the Guelph Storm in the finals, then and also played at home while hosting the Memorial Cup tournament in 1996. The club achieved a 100% sellout each tournament game, and lost in the final that year to the Granby Pr?dateurs.

50th AnniversaryAfter leaving the team in 1993, Dick rejoined the team as head coach in 2004. Dick was able to move the team forward and was a part of the 50th anniversary jubilations. The team finally became the oldest continuously operating franchise in the Ontario Hockey League (the rival Oshawa Generals date to 1937 but were inactive from 1953-62).

The Petes celebrated their 50th anniversary in grand style, winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup on May 11, 2006 in a four game sweep of the London Knights. Peterborough traveled to Moncton, New Brunswick to play in the 2006 Memorial Cup, losing the third place tiebreaker game to the Vancouver Giants. Todd retired for good a few weeks after the Petes returned from Moncton.